The Official Community Plan will be the topic of discussion Tuesday at a meeting of the Battlefords Chamber of Commerce.
The meeting is set for 7 p.m. at the Chamber of Commerce Building on the junction of highways 16 and 40 in North Battleford.
It is open to all Chamber members and is expected to include representation from North Battleford City Hall including City Manager Jim Puffalt and City Planner Tim LaFreniere. The plan is for them to address specifics on the zoning bylaw, listen to input, and allay concerns.
The meeting comes six days before a public hearing scheduled for council chambers on April 28, prior to second reading of the city's proposed new zoning bylaw.
One reason the Chamber meeting is being called is to discuss some concerns being expressed over the proposed zoning.
At the Chamber's regular board meeting April 15, executive director Linda Machniak noted questions about the bylaw were brought to their attention, with concern expressed that the provisions would be restrictive to business and drive away investment.
The concerns were raised in a letter distributed to Chamber members from president Ryan Moe, dated April 7.
Among the concerns is that while "major" office development is permitted in the C1 commercial zone downtown, only minor offices are permitted elsewhere. Another concern is that automobile dealerships would not be an approved use for development in the south east quadrant, now a C4 commercial development.
A third concern is that theatres are listed as a permitted use only in the C1 commercial district downtown, meaning an investor would not receive initial approval for a theatre to be built at a mall or in the city's north end.
Another concern expressed in the letter involved land the City was looking to annex from the RM of North Battleford, something Moe stated would "significantly affect the businesses currently there, along with the development plans that the RM may have."
It is anticipated those concerns and others will be addressed at the Tuesday meeting, with the Chamber hoping the concerns will be addressed with amendments to the zoning bylaw.
The City's representative on the Chamber board, Ryan Bater, made clear the Official Community Plan was not something council had decided upon or approved yet.
"I don't want people to believe this is something we had already engineered," Bater said. He encouraged Chamber members to express their opinions and offer input. He also noted the issue would be coming back to council later this month.
"It's pretty serious stuff," said Bater, adding "get your front row tickets to council when it happens."
